Ronak Kapadia

Email Address: ronak@uic.edu
College: Liberal Arts and Sciences Department: Gender and Women's Studies
Secondary Department: Asian American Studies
Title: Assistant Professor
Office: 1218 University Hall, MC 360 Phone: 6-2715
Webpage: https://gws.uic.edu/people/gws-faculty/ronak-kapadia
Participating in the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Awards program: Yes

Research Interest:
I am interdisciplinary cultural theorist of race, sexuality, and empire in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century United States. Currently, I am completing my first book, Insurgent Aesthetics: Race, Security, and the Sensorial Life of Empire (Duke University Press, forthcoming), which is on contemporary South Asian, Muslim, and Arab American visual art in the context of war and empire. For this project, I seek a student researcher interested in critical ethnic and postcolonial studies, queer and feminist studies, and/or visual culture and performance studies.

Minimum time commitment in hours per week: 5

Qualifications of a Student:
This position will be excellent preparation for a student who is considering applying for graduate work in the interdisciplinary humanities (American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, Cultural Studies, Art History, etc.). Preference will be given to students at the sophomore-level or above who can make a two semester commitment. Must have library research skills, some coursework in GWS or related programs, be able to work independently and have great attention to detail. Students interested in arts, social justice, and social movement work are especially encouraged to apply.

Brief Summary of what is expected from the student:
The student researcher will be expected to help me compile extensive bibliographies, survey multiple bodies of interdisciplinary literature (both online and in library holdings), write brief summaries of new art exhibitions, and contact artists, archives, and galleries related to the book project. This is an exciting juncture for the project, and I look forward to working with a student researcher in 2017-18!

NOTE: This researcher is currently not accepting applications for the Undergraduate Research Experience program.

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